The annual attack of the killer bathtubs at the Interior Design Show in Toronto

Some things never change.

Every year, I go to the Interior Design Show in Toronto and complain about the bathtubs. Last year, my wife Kelly complained, “Really? Are you going to keep flogging this?” So this year, I will quickly reiterate the points before poor Kelly’s eyes glaze over:

These freestanding tubs are a design disaster. They are impossible to get in and out of safely; you can’t sit on the edge and swing your legs over. There is nowhere to put grab bars or anything else. There are no ergonomics to the shape of it to make it comfortable; it is just designed to look pretty sitting in the bathroom. Designers should just stop specifying them. I promise I won’t say another word about them; if you want more, read Stop the attack of the killer bathtubs!

Oh wait, somebody actually put a ledge on part of the tub, there is a place to put the soap. Things are looking up. But enough of the bathtubs.

My other bête noire has always been the kitchen appliance displays with acres of giant gas ranges.

This year, all the major manufacturers were showing lots of induction. Glenn Primeaux, account executive for Canadian Appliance Source, told me that 80% of their high-end customers were now buying induction instead of gas. And while three out of the four in this image have knobs, many people prefer the electronic touch controls because the range tops are so much easier to keep clean. Knobs are most prevalent with range/oven combos, while electronic sliders are more common on countertop installations.

The American President recently signed an executive order, ‘Unleashing American Energy,’ which will give Americans the ‘freedom to choose light bulbs’ of their choice; he doesn’t like modern LED bulbs because he says they make him look orange. He should try these SATCO bulbs first; they have the same 2700K colour temperature as incandescent bulbs, they look old-timey, and they have an excellent CRI (Colour rendering index) of over 90.

I was excited to meet Meredith Moore of Ouroboros Deconstruction; she has been in the news recently with her company,

“the culmination of a years-long passion for adaptive reuse and sustainability and first-hand experience within the spheres of architecture, design, construction, and demolition. Recognizing the underutilization and lack of appreciation for existing materials coupled with contemporary society’s throw-away culture, she realized that a shift in perspective was desperately overdue. Moore has made it her mission, both privately and professionally, to help people better understand just how much high-quality, salvageable material already exists and the value in its reuse.”

I also met Daniel Arellano of Arcana Materials, which recovers, cleans and resells bricks. The company commissioned a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment which concluded that the carbon footprint of rescued and restored bricks is “approximately 79 times less than the production carbon footprint of new heritage-match bricks.”

A decade ago, the IDS and the exhibitors would make a very big deal about sustainability. There was nary a peep about it anywhere in the show this year except for Meredith and Daniel, along with the stalwart Chris of Greening Homes. Ouroboros and Arcana were a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Years ago, I used to go to New York City every year for the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair), where I first saw digital designs cut out of plywood on a CNC machine. I was convinced it was the future for furniture and even housing. Here, Cory Christiansen shows work by students of the 3D design program at the School of Art and History, University of Iowa; they make it real with arCHAIRtecture. Some of them are a bit busy, but so much ingenuity!

There was no way I would miss a seminar titled “Let’s be upfront about carbon,” where I heard Risha Narvekar talk about her work in Toronto and India. I am obsessed with waffle slabs, which significantly reduce the amount of concrete needed for a given span. They are also much more decorative than a flat slab. Rishi showed the most wonderful idea: terracotta pots. You save all that concrete and have such a warm, interesting-looking ceiling.

The Interior Design Show is not what it used to be; the Internet, the 2008 economic crash, and finally, the pandemic have all taken their toll. There wasn’t even much to buy in the shop; the bookstore is gone, and every year, there are fewer exhibitors. I do hope it survives; where else would I get to complain about the killer bathtubs?